Punjab politics: PPP, PML-Q to move try to dislodge PML-N after budget vote

President was reportedly hesitant to go along with Pervaiz Elahi’s plan.

ISLAMABAD:

The Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) and the Pakistan Muslim League Quaid (PML-Q) are expected to begin political manoeuvres to dislodge the Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz (PML-N) as the ruling party in Punjab, according to sources privy to internal discussions within the parties.

Sources say that the moves against the PML-N government in Lahore are expected to take place soon after the provincial budget for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2012 passes the Punjab Assembly.

Individuals privy to the plan told The Express Tribune on Sunday that PML-Q leader Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi had convinced President Asif Ali Zardari that he might be able to take control of the Punjab government. Elahi is reporterd to be spearheading the whole campaign.

Elahi, who served as Punjab chief minister between 2002 and 2007 under former president Pervez Musharraf, had told President Zardari that he wanted control of the Punjab government ahead of next general elections to make sure that district administrations and police officials could be used to the coalition’s advantage during the 2013 polls.

“We want this desperately… controlling the province ahead of polls is what can make all the difference in the world,” said one associate of Elahi, who claimed he would be part of the campaign when it is started next month.

Sources close to President Zardari said the president had initially disagreed with the idea out of fear that it might backfire, similar to what happened in the early months of 2009, when the PPP tried to dislodge the PML-N government by imposing “Governor’s rule” in Punjab.

While the president is constitutionally authorised to impose such rule, temporarily suspending the provincial assembly, the public backlash against the move was so strong that President Zardari was forced to take back this measure within a matter of days.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 13^th, 2011.